You can go to multiple food pantries, if they're available! I know most churches in my area have them once a month at least, and there's a food pantry, and there's another church that does free dinners every Thursday. Look into as many options like that as you can. Sometimes it's hard to find that sort of information. Do you get a Penny Saver or free advertisement newspaper? That can be helpful for finding free events like that.

Meal planning is also helpful. I was going through a rough time earlier this year because our car broke at the same time some large bills were due, so we were really tight on money. We bought things that were easy to use and make different ways & cheap, like bread, cheese, pizza sauce, rice, ...

with the canned corn and green bean you can put that with some hamburger salt pepper some garlic and can of el pato sauce and maybe if they have any potatoes cut some up and let it cook

bean burritos i don't know if your dollar tree sells tortillas because some do but just either a big thing of beans if its cheaper to get pinto beans in a bag and boil them then smash them and buy a small bag of cheese, you can gt a box of tuna helper for like a dollar and make tuna helper lol sometimes i don't even use milk when I have no milk and just throw in butter and a bit of cheese lol

Theres only 1 church and its only once a month.(this one allows me to have someone else pick it up if im sick or the car won't start) My town has a breadshed but its only once a month and you cannot have anyone else pick stuff up for you.So I usually miss it.With my leg and my moms health no way I can stand in line for hours..

im cooking with a electric skillet(not deep enough to boil in) and microwave. My local dollar tree sells out of things fast.Ive never seen tortillas in there but maybe there sold out when im looking around.

I just had to put car in shop luckily the parts are covered under warranty but I had to pay a service charge of 75.00. Car will not start heater core is going out some other stuff is also going out Ive had it less than a year..Parts themselves cost over 100.00 so good thing the warranty covers the parts.

Sad part I had to rent a car till my car gets out of the shop.sO now im stuck paying on the rental.I have to have a car for medical reasons.So ya Ive not even paid my house off yet and all this unexpected expenses are eating away at the check I received .I did catch up on my house payments so I guess thats a plus..

Ive got to try and put money back for my leg surgery the equipment I need for it is 70.00 a day.My insurance does not cover the home equipment.It's the kind that you have to rent.It helps get your leg movement back and supposed to help prevent blood clots.

wow I hope things look up for you and wow the town where you live must be extremely small, sucks where I live we have things like project go which helps people low income with electricity and also sometimes with homes like if you needed your electric fix or cooling and such and like tons of churches and places your very remote,

well it is a small town plus it was flooded this year so lots of places closed.

Where do you live, if you dont mind me asking?

I don't give that info out.All I will say is my area was declared a national disaster.

If you can afford it - and you should be able to, 3 quart ones aren't expensive - buy a crock pot. And my suggestion for food? FREEZE. EVERYTHING. Buy bulk, cheap cuts of meat that are on sale. (I buy chicken thighs, and one of my grocery stores has a butcher section and they occasionally cut their own porkchops and I can get like 6 MASSIVE ones for legit like $5). Frozen vegetables are better for you, cheaper, and last longer. Store things in the fridge, like your bread, it extends the shelf life.

Other ways you can cut down, for cellphone service look in to Ting. It's what I use and because I stay under 100 minutes and under 1000 texts and don't use the internet, I only pay about $23 a month after taxes.

I got a 3 liter soda for $1.85!It was on sale.I just have a small freezer I do have a crockpot but Thanks to someone storing stuff in my house from there old place I have bugs now..I threw there stuff out and now I have to use air tight containers. Ive tried raid,hot shot and bug traps but it's just so bad..I can't have bread unless it's in the fridge.Crackers have to be in air tight containers or in the fridge.Cooking is a hassle cause bugs try and get in the food.I can't afford a professional bug sprayer person.Ive tried several things and i still have those nasty bugs.Turns out the place the person used to live was infested in them.So there stuff had the bugs inside.

You might have to save up and buy foggers. Bugs also don't like essential oils, like peppermint. Spray it at the openings, windows and doors. Lots of vacuuming. Lots of scrubbing. Lavender is actually an insecticide!

This might help

ive tried foggers months ago but they did not work.I now have a fish tank and if I do to much it will kill the fish.Tank,fish and decor was all free thanks to giftcards.its just one beta fish in a 5 gallon tank food,filter and light came with tank, Im trying some kind of gel you put out and bugs eat it and supposed to kill them.

It's nice that you have a pet but even just owning a beta is going to put a dent in your already stretched finances. You need to do bi-weekly water changes, you have to keep the chemical balance, and clean/change the filters regularly depending on what filter you have. If you're using tap water in the tank you need extra chemicals to treat the water and that's not cheap. I owned a beta and I currently own a 25 gallon tank. Not to mention the extra electricity needed to keep the tank running 24/7.

To be honest that giftcard money probably would have been better spent on food or something absolutely necessary. Yes it's nice to buy luxuries but this is an ongoing cost and from all you've said you've got more critical things that your money could be spent on, especially if your pest control problem isn't being treated properly because you can't use foggers due to the fish.

I'd see if you could sell the fish and everything with it and put that money towards bug treatments or groceries.

Edit: Just adding this as well, it looks like you're currently housing 3 cats (some of which had multiple kittens), formerly had 2 dogs (one taken by what I assume is the ASPCA and the other deceased?), and chickens as well? On top of having bought a "rent to own" shed you're making payments on to house your chickens?

That may be a HUGE factor in your stretched thin budget. I would see how much you're spending in pet upkeep and shed payments since it says you're paying $200 a month for the shed? All of this on top of medical bills, house payments, and trying to feed two humans on top of multiple animals.

It may sound cruel but you really need to consider how much you're paying in animal upkeep, animal vet bills for checkups and vaccines, and for housing/feed, especially when your female cats keep having litters and aren't fixed. If you can barely feed and care for yourself then the animals best interest needs to be considered until you're on more stable ground. Especially if there's a bug problem in the house and chemicals being used to kill them. That could seriously affect animal health and they could either get sick from the chemicals or get some sort of infection/skin condition from the bugs.

The giftcard was for the petstore It couldn't be used anywhere other than the pet store.I get my filter cartridges free thanks to a lady who went out of business she was a self owned pet store.She had some stuff that did not sale such as the filter cartridges I needed so she gave them to me.Yes I change my water but the water conditioner I use costs $2.99 at the pet store 1 bottle lasts me 3 months.

The one dog was stolen by a drunk up the road.Drunk also stole other peoples dogs and sold them.I have no dogs now. the other dog died cause someone broke in my house and turned the heat on and set thermostat to 100 degrees while I was gone.no one had a key but me.I turned that heat off months ago and it can only be turned on by hand.I even had the thermostat turned off and someone reprogrammed it.Same day neighbor was robbed.So no the aspca had nothing to do with anything.Why would they when my mom volunteered when she was able to help rescue dogs from the woods where there owners threw them out.SO no the ASPCA has nothing to do with anything.You even bringing that up makes me ticked.MY animals are not abused or neglected.Yes one was sick but it was cancer tumors in her and she was very old and she was a rescue.She was on her last few months when she was stolen.So no the ASPCA wouldn't take my moms dog for having cancer and dying.

Look my 1st shed payment isn't till October. After that its way less than 200.The chickens where free.The feed came with them cause the man decided he rather raise rabbits.Chickens produce eggs which I can use instead of buying eggs.I could even sell the extra eggs.

Ive paid off my old medical bills and some other debts.Doctor called me my left leg surgery will be later this year or next year due to my insurance.

My cats cut down on mice which get in my house and eat through the food.

I know I sound snappy but there was 2 people shot and killed in my town today.Which isn't the 1st murder of the year for my town.A lady and her kids where shot in there own house.So ya im locking everything down and the drunk up the road got kicked out there place and is harassing me telling me to let them live in my shed or else.

No cops in my town don't do anything.Person was growing weed on there porch and cops wouldn't even go look.The person is a known drug dealer and meth user.Theve been arrested for drugs and meth before several times in another town.So they came down here and so far nothing is being done.

Look I feel for your situation but I was just going off what you posted. You said you needed help figuring out how to live on less than $1000 a month and I offered what was the obvious solution that would also take into account the well being of your pets due to the harsh chemicals you're using to get rid of your bug infestation since you worried about your fish dying from it and if your fish could possibly die from it then your larger animals like cats could get very sick or have respiratory problems from it.

From the sounds of it you're doing very well with being given a lot of free things and having paid off a lot of your medical bills and debts. You should be able to pay off your shed and your house with no issues then with those debts out of the way and you can spend more on monthly food and possibly hire someone to treat the bug problem.

I'm glad you're doing a lot better and that your debt is almost taken care of. Once you get those payments you're owed from the lawsuit(?) you'll be all set into a comfortable life!

my cats pretty much live out doors(they come and go as they please) and the bug gel won't hurt them unless they eat it.Which means they would have to get into cabinets which I don't allow.There food is safe in a container with a lid that I can easily move from room to room if needed.Foggers you have to take all pets,food,medicine,everything out of the house.And then you have to let house air and clean up the mess from the foggers.I don't have anywhere I can go for over 2 hours or more.

I know I get defensive over my animals but its cause there all Ive got.My mom is usually snapping/fussing at me or something cause she has head trauma from a car accident.SO ya sometimes shes fine other times its like you just got to let her do whatever she doing.I tune her out a lot.Mostly its her losing her keys or misplacing something and her gripping at me saying its the cat fault.The cat does swat things but usually she just overlooks things.Like once she blamed the cat for losing her keys turns out she dropped them on the porch the night before.I mean we all have out bad days but I feel like im the one she takes them out on.

I guess its just easier to blame others.No I can't talk to her about it cause it will just make her go off on me.Her and my older sister get into all the time then im the one that has to hear about it.My older sister and me don't talk she is well a wild child to put it nicely.My sister doesn't help take care of anything she poped off all she wants is the car and property so she can sell them.I got news for her my name is on everything and she gets nothing.Her and our mother get into it weekly they both have attitudes.

Well I'm glad to hear your cats are living outside where the bug control methods won't bother them! There's always the risk of being attacked by animals or run over by a vehicle but as long as they're smart to stay away from the road you'll be fine to use any products you need to in order to get rid of the bug problem. Glad to hear you've got a solid plan for your pest control, I'm sure it'll go fantastic and your house will be bug-free in no time! Just don't forget to keep your cats up to date on their shots and get them flea and tick medicines to keep them pest free as well otherwise they'll re-infest your house!

Look ive already ran of someone who pops negative crap out of there mouth."oh that drunk can have you beat up"Ya not the first time they poped something off at me.SO I don't need anymore "your cats are going to get ran over" "your animals are going to kill you" "people just want in your pants" Ive had enough of that crap.They have been ran off my yard more than once cause there mouth.I don't and wont listen to any more crap.It's people like them that make others kill themselves and live in fear. something in life we goes right and crap like them just starts poping off how it could all go wrong.

So yes I know im defensive but after having to deal with a negative jerky you would be to.They where doing jobs for me for free cause I used to watch there moms house till she died.I can't take anymore of there mouth.I know I snap at them but hey what do you expect when someone is telling you your animals are going to kill you(even though im not the one who has a dog that attacks people) and others are saying crap.So ya no more telling me that my life could go wrong I know it can ok.I don't need people telling me whats/or might going to happen to me or my animals.

I got new for everyone poping there mouth at me they can get mugged anytime anywhere.So before you start telling people what could happen thats negative when the person is already having a sucky time think before you post things.

I don't date I don't do nothing with anyone I stay to myself and people have the nerve to tell me my animals are going to get killed on the road cause of me.OR people just want in my pants I got new for everyone if all you going to do is say negative things without thinking then keep your comments to yourself.

I just want to know where you got any of ... this from "be care about fleas and ticks".

I assure you I definitely WAS NOT trying to get into your pants! I'd never do that considering you're definitely not my type haha.

It's just where I'm from in a rural town cats and other free-range pets left outside run a real risk of being attacked/killed by strays or wild animals and some will get hit by cars trying to cross roads to visit other free-range pets. That and free-range pets can get worms, ticks, or fleas and bring them inside so I was just saying be sure to purchase collars or medicines for them to prevent that since you said you have a bug problem. I've had my dogs cause a flea infestation in my house just from being out to use the bathroom and it took ages to get rid of them all. I just don't want you to get any more pests inside your house but not a lot of people know that a few pet fleas can turn into a house-wide infestation in no time.

Either way I'm glad you're in good health and I hope things get better which I'm sure they will because things sound like they're getting better and better for your family which is great news!

it wasn't the fleas and ticks.It was the crap about the aspca and the crap telling me my cats could get killed in my yard or killed on the road.

I don't need anymore negative thoughts or remarks made at me.Ive dealt with way to much as it is.

I wasn't calling the subeta user crap I was talking about the jerk I ran off.

Like I said I won't listen to anymore negative remarks/negative suggestions,negative possibilities.

I know life isn't perfect lots can go wrong but when your already in a depressed like state and people are making negative comments it makes it worse.The jerk I ran off my yard was nothing but negativity.I just can't handle any more this could go wrong that will go wrong."You could end up beat up for not doing what others want(jerks mouth that I ran off)" "your cat could get killed in your yard(subeta user comment)" "the ASPCA took your dog(ive got no clue how they even came up with that remark)(subeta user comment)". Ive had enough negative talk.

Ive got to much stress and now 1 less negative person.So hopefully my stress level will go down since the negative jerk I ran off is gone.